The Outcast's Redemption
by Incinerator1
Summary: Pariah Nikos is an outcast, demonised for what he did and what he has become. But a chance encounter with our favourite headmaster changes his fate. Now, along with his new team and team STRQ, will be influential in events set to take place years later. Especially as he is the one who gives rise to the birth of the Grimm Queen herself. T for swearing. RWBY Prequel.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This a prequel fic, everything in this happens before the main series begins.**

I don't know how long it's been since I've eaten.

Three days?

Four?

I think the only reason I haven't starved to death is because my aura's holding me together. Shame I can't turn it off.

But it doesn't matter. I just have to sit here for another few days and maybe I'll just wither away. Oum knows no one'd mind.

I blew a strand of pitch black hair out of my eyes, their green orbs blankly scanning my surroundings. I was sitting in a damp back alley, right next to a dumpster, trying as much as possible to remain invisible. I mean, homeless wanderers like myself don't normally attract attention, but here, in the city of Vale, it isn't as easy to hide as it is in Mistral.

My tattered brown cloak hid my more noticable traits like my hair, eyes and… the _other_ thing, as well as kept my weapon out of sight from prying eyes. After everyone left me, my weapon, _Samaritan_ was the only thing I had left. It was a solid black and grey revolver the size of my forearm. It has a six shot, removable cylinder, dust round compatible of course and has enough firepower to punch a hole through a Boarbatusk's head. It also can shift from a revolver into a knife form if I pushed the trigger forward instead of pulled it back. The only problem is that _Samaritan_ has about the same weight as a mule and kicks like one too, but those are small issues.

I know _Samaritan_ isn't the fanciest weapon, but it's all I've got, and compared to my alternative arsenal, the more preferrable.

"Dammit." I said, memories buzzing through my head of my past. When they didn't stop, I started banging my head against the wall at my back till I was too delirous to remember even my own name.

After my self imposed concussion, I pulled my knees closer to my body, dropping my head on them and letting out a deep breath.

"Dammit."

I don't know how much longer I sat there. It could've been minutes or hours, but I didn't care. I was just waiting for starvation to kill me or some random Grimm to eat me alive, which was unlikely in the middle of the city.

It wasn't until a few moments later that I'd meet someone who'd change my life forever.

As I sat in my own self pity, I perked up at the sound of footsteps coming down the alley. I looked up, wondering in the back of my mind who'd be roaming around a back alley like this. To my complete surprise, it wasn't anyone I expected: a small child.

It was a little girl, maybe four or five looking absolutely terrified and clinging onto a stuffed bear for dear life. Not trying to sound creepy, but she looked like a small angel with her long white hair, slate blue eyes and flawless skin. I wasn't sure if she was real or a hunger-induced hallucination until she bumped a garbage bag, its disgusting contents spilling out onto the ground. She kept treading down the alley, her head darting back and forth as if a Beowolf was gonna break through the wall. However, her fears would be well justified soon enough.

She walked past the dumpster I was beside, not even noticing me until I was right beside her. She jumped back, her eyes wide with fright and I looked back at her with a blank gaze. She took two shaky steps back before breaking off into a run out the other side of the alley. I sighed in desolation and I fell back into my previous position.

However, instead of being left to my devices, I heard another sound from the other side of the alley, this time they were heavier and more numerous.

"She went this way, I'm sure of it." Spoke a gruff voice, to which another responded:

"Alright, c'mon boys, we gotta catch her fore' she finds a cop or somethin'." I braved a glance to see a group of six men, all large and imposing in their own right stalking the alley. They all wore different casual clothes, but judging from the way they carried themselves and the concealed weapons they carried, I assumed they weren't regular civilians.

I stiffened, wondering if they were after me, if they were sent by someone who still had a grudge with me and wanted to finish me off.

Paranoid I know, but when you're me, things tend to end up that way. Thankfully they passed by me without so much as a glance, continuing their conversation as they walked.

"Stupid kid, how'd she get away?" asked one thug. My instincts immediately told me that these guys were bad news. Not my problem though.

"Sorry man." Another replied, "It's just, her hands are so small! I didn't think she'd be able to wiggle out."

"Idiot!" spoke the first thug. "We need to find her before she talks to anyone, c'mon, I think she went this way."

All the thugs turned the same way as the girl from earlier. After they were all gone, I sat there in the company of silence and sadness as I returned to wallowing in my own self pity. But as hard as I tried, my mind always drifted back to that little girl and those thugs.

What did those men want with her?

Where was that girl's parents?

Why was she alone?

Was she in danger?

Those thoughts plagued me more than my own memories as I held my head in my hands and began muttering.

"No, no, no, no. Not my problem. Not my problem. Let it go." But I couldn't. I couldn't just let it go. I couldn't let another person be hurt because of me.

I shouted, slamming my fist on the dumpster before standing up. Fatigue and starvation hit me harder than a jackhammer, but despite that I pressed on, making my way towards the direction the girl went. I removed _Samaritan_ from its holster, checking all the ammo I had left as well.

 _Six regular bullets, two fire rounds, one wind round, and one lightning round._ I thought. _That's not a lot. Gonna have to be careful._

Mmy right arm began to ache, a desperate pounding that seemed to smash against my nerves.

"Hrgh…" I grabbed my forearm and squezed as tight as I could. Dammit, it's getting worse. I shook it off as I finally caught up to the thugs who had turned into another alley a block ahead. It was brief, but I noted something struggling against one of the thugs.

"No." I hurried my pace, cocking back _Samaritan's_ hammerbefore standing at the alley entrance.

I furrowed my brows as I caught sight of one of the thugs struggling to keep the small girl in check whilst the others looked on in annoyance.

"What're you doin'?" scolded one thug. "Keep 'er still!"

"I'm trying! She just won't stop moving!" Exclaimed the thug holding the girl.

"Let me go!" she squealed.

"Hey!" I shouted. I held _Samaritan_ behind my back, keeping the thugs off guard.

"Beat it kid, nothin' to see here." Said the one thug and I glared at him.

"Oh really? Then what are you doing with that girl?"

All the thugs glowered menacingly, but I held my ground. The girl looked at me with wide, fearful eyes, holding a hand out towards me.

"Help me! He-mph!" The thug holding her clasped a hand over her mouth, silencing her.

"Last warnin'," All the thugs reached behind their backs and pulled out various melee weapons like batons and swords. "Beat it."

"How about I beat you instead." With that, I whipped _Samaritan_ out from behind me and fired a shot, the bullet blasting right through thug number one's shoulder. A spray of blood and an alarmed shout later, he was collapsed on the ground crying in pain. The bandages over my right arm rustled in the wind, but they didn't look like they'd come off so I wasn't worried.

The other thugs were too shocked to react; I used that to my advantage, switching _Samaritan_ into knife form and charging the thugs. They all had their weapons out – which consisted of mostly melee items – but that didn't stop me from putting my knife in a backhand grip and slashing upwards. I got one thug across the chest and he went down without a fight.

I blocked a strike from another thug from slashing me with a small sword, grabbing his wrist and flipping him. I saw a thug trying to come at me from behind, so I defended myself with a backwards spin kick to his head. The force of the hit sent him flying to the side wall, his weapon – another baton – flying off to the side. I didn't hesitate to toss _Samaritan_ at one of the remaining thugs.

The knife stuck him right in the shoulder, and without aura to protect him, he screamed as blood began seeping from the wound. While he did that, I took care of the second to the last thug: he held his baton overhead, intent on smashing my skull in. Clearly he didn't see what I did to his friend. I effortlessly dodged the swing and as he was thrown off balance, I pulled him down and kneed him in the stomach. As the air forced itself out of his lungs, I grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him against the wall, knocking him out cold.

I returned my attention to the thug with my knife in his shoulder, who by the way was still screaming in pain. I yanked my knife out and punched him in the face, a satisfying crunch and his loss of conciousness soon followed.

I whipped my head around, my gaze going for the last thug to find him holding a knife at the small girl's throat.

"D-Don't you move now!" He said, panicked. "I-I'll kill her, I swear! Don't-Don't come any closer!"

I tightened my grip on _Samaritan_ and took an experimental step forward. The motion caused the thug to press the knife harder onto the girl's throat, and she cried out in panic and pain as blood began dripping from her neck.

"H-Help me. I don't wanna die." She whimpered. Anger boiled in my gut as I tried to formulate a plan of attack.

"Put the knife down. You don't need to do this." I said, but the thug didn't budge.

"Oh no. You're gonna let me walk out of here. You make a move, and I'll kill her!" Okay, reasoning isn't working, let's try threats now.

"Last chance. Let. Her. Go."

"Y-You're crazy!" I sighed in frustration. Okay, so words wouldn't work, I needed a new plan. I frantically scanned my surroundings, looking for a way before my eyes settled on something a few feet behind the thug. It was the baton of one of the thugs I knocked out, resting directly behind the last thug.

I cleared my mind and focused on the baton, taking in its location for a few seconds before flaring my aura and activating my Semblance. As soon as the thug blinked, I dissapeared from his line of sight. He panicked, scanning the area in front of him, trying to locate me when his eyes fell on something on the floor in front of him: one of his compatriot's baton that definitely wasn't there before.

He was confused for a moment, but his confusion turned into horror as the barrel of _Samaritan_ pressed against the back of his head.

"H-How?"

"My Semblance: I can switch places with anything in my line of sight. People, objects, it doesn't matter, as long as they're either lighter than me or aren't planted in the ground (i.e. trees/plants)." I felt dumb explaining this to a thug, but he deserved to know how he got beat.

"Semblance? S-Shit, you-you're a Hunter?!" If he wasn't scared before, he certainly was now, but his assumption was a mistake: I'm not a hunter, or, not anymore.

"No, I'm not a Hunter. Now, I'll say it again: let her go, or I blow your brains out." I cocked the hammer back and pressed it harder against his head. The thug whimpered and slowly put his hands up. As soon as she was free, the girl bolted towards the end of the alley, dissapearing around the corner.

I watched her leave and turned my attention back to the thug.

"P-Please! J-Just let me g-go." He pleaded.

"Shut up." I growled before smashing the butt of my gun against his head. He crumpled to the ground, softly groaning before going silent.

I looked around at all the knocked out and wounded thugs before taking a deep breath.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

I pushed back the hammer and spun _Samaritan_ in my finger before shoving it into my holster. I gave a small smile at the action before adjusting my cloak and moving to leave. However, my eyes caught on something at the end of the alley: the small child was there, looking right at me, not with fear like before, but a timid expression.

"Hey." I said, smiling. The girl jumped further back behind the corner, but not far enough to be obscured from view.

"Hey, it's alright. I'm a friend." I said, crouching down and holding my left hand out for her. She peered in closer, slowly coming out from behind the corner and ever so slowly creeping closer to me. She gingerly reached out and touched my hand, recoiling as if I was about to grab her. When I didn't make a move, she reached out again, this time gently holding my hand.

She looked up into my green eyes, which I kept as least mournful as possible, before running at me and eveloping me in an embrace. I was shocked at the sudden contact, but I went with it, returning the hug and patting her on the back.

"Thank you." She sobbed. "Thank you."

"Don't worry about it." I said, pushing her away and holding her by the shoulders. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"I *sniff, I wanted an ice cream." She started, pointing to the thug that was holding her hostage. "He grabbed me when I came out. My guards tried to stop him but-but they-they…"

Fresh tears began welling in her eyes and I hugged her again.

"Hey, hey, hey, it's alright. You're safe." I tried to push her off, but she wouldn't let go. Oh great. I sighed as, without letting go, I carried her into the air, walking out of the alley.

"Say kid, what's your name?" I asked, trying to change the subject and the child stopped crying for a moment and said:

"Winter. My name is Winter."

"Winter huh? What a pretty name." I smiled. Winter, still holding me, sniffled and rubbed her eye.

"Than-Thanks Mr."

"Pariah. My name is Pariah." Winter pulled, back, looking me in the eyes but still holding tight.

"P-Pariah? You sound like a prince."

"Heh, yeah, I guess I do. And you know, Winter is the name of a princess."

"No, I'm not a princess, I'm a queen!" She said, cheering up slightly and I chuckled.

"Alright Queen Winter, let's go find your parents." I lifted Winter in my arms and carried her as I treaded out of the alley. I glance back at the the thugs in lying on the ground before making my way to the nearest police station to find anyone to help me.

 **AN: What do you think? Review and tell me how you feel.**


	2. Chapter 2

So, I _thought_ returning a kidnapped girl to the nearest police station would _at least_ get me a pat on the back. What I did get was three different cops tackling me to the ground and ripping Winter from my grasp. I tried to struggle, but I was too weak from lack of food and sleep, so they were able to subdue me and throw me in the first holding cell they could find.

The worst part about all of this was that they took away _Samaritan_ and my cloak, the latter revealing my clothing underneath. Aside from the enormous amount of gauze that wrapped the entire length of my right arm, my clothes seemed to draw the most attention: the grey outlined, black jacket with a silver band on the left arm, white shirt and black trousers, the standard issue uniform of Haven Academy in Mistral. The only problem was the clothes were ripped up, dirty with the entire right sleeve completely missing. These were all the signs needed to make one, simple judgement: that I was once a student from Haven, but not anymore. I was expelled.

I didn't see Winter after that, the cops just left me to rot for the next four hours. Well, on the plus side, I was finally able to get some sleep. Albeit for only two hours. I would've slept for longer if it wasn't for the onslaught of nightmares that plagued me ever time I close my eyes.

Since the day I was outcasted, every time I try and sleep, I just get blasted with nightmares. I don't know why this happens, nor can I remember what they are, but I know for sure that they are the most horrifying, traumatic images you can possibly imagine. I end up only getting a maximum of three hours of sleep every night, five if I decide to brave the nightmares and try and return to sleep. Yeah, my life is complete crap.

This time, I jolted up from the cold floor of the holding cell, panting and sweating whilst keeping a death-grip on my right arm. I wince in pain as it begins pulsing and I try to calm myself before it gets any worse.

Once the pain stopped, I moved towards the wall and rested my head against it, silently contemplating why on Remnant I was being punished like this. Oh wait, I remember now.

However, before my mind could drift back to the past, the sound of the cell doors opening caught my attention. I looked up to see two officers standing at the entrance, looking at me with a stern gaze.

"Get up. We're taking you to interrogation." The one officer said.

I didn't have the strength nor the will to resist, so I sighed dejectedly and stood up, allowing the officers to lead me through the station. As I was escorted down the corridors, I felt that all eyes were focused solely on me. I could already tell the questions and conversations going on in the background:

" _Who is that guy?"_

" _Is he a student?"_

" _I think he was expelled, look at his clothes."_

" _What happened to his arm?"_

As much as the voices plagued me, I blocked them out as I was pushed into the dark interrogation room, the door shutting behind me with a _slam_.

I took in my surroundings: the room was pretty much bare, save for a lone steel table and two chairs lit up by a single overhead lamp.

"Please," spoke a calm voice, the sudden intrusion causing me to jump. "have a seat."

I whipped my head around, until my sight rested on a figure, hidden in the shadows. He stepped out into the light and I took my own weary step back. He was an older man with silver hair, strands of black across his head here and there. He dressed mostly in shades of black and green, with the exception of an intricately designed cane with a silver grip.

"Who are you? What do you want?" I asked, afraid for my safety. The man didn't seem threatening, but it's always the one's you don't see coming who hit you the hardest.

"Calm down. My name is Ozpin, I am the headmaster at Beacon Academy." He said. The name and title were all to familiar to me, and I panicked and tried to escape out the door, but found that it was locked.

"Now there's no need for that. You're not in any trouble." Ozpin said. His words didn't fully ease me, but I feared that if I defied him any more I'd _really_ be in trouble.

"What do you want?" I asked again. Ozpin gestured for me to sit and I reluctantly did so.

"What is your name?"

"Excuse me?"

"Oh come now, isn't it common courtesy to introduce oneself after a stranger says his name." I raised an eyebrow, but I went along with it.

"Pariah. Pariah… Nikos." I said, straining to tell him my last name. I couldn't tell if he noticed it or not as he went on to sit in the chair directly in front of me.

"Thank you. Now, Mr. Nikos, do you know why you're here?"

"I didn't do it." I said, my tone surprisingly neutral, but he didn't seem to notice – or care. "I didn't kidnap that girl."

"Oh yes, I know. In fact, the authorities have actually apprehended those responsible, although, it was quite a surprise to find them all unconcious in a back alley." I sensed a tinge of mirth in his tone, and the small smile spreading across his face confirmed my suspicions.

"I did what I felt was right. That girl needed my help, and I helped her. If you wanna punish me for that, go right ahead." I stared at Ozpin in defiance, but he – again – seemed unfazed.

"So, you don't know do you?"

What?

"Know what?" I asked wearily. What could I have possibly done? I didn't I kill one of them did I? I was sure the injuries were non-lethal.

"The girl you saved, you don't know who she is do you?" I was slightly relieved, and yet also intrigued.

"Umm… no? Her name's Winter and that's about it. Why?"

"I'm surprised you don't recognise her. Mr. Nikos, are you aware that the full name of the girl you saved the life of is… Winter Schnee?"

Oh, now I get it.

"Schnee? As in, the _Schnee Dust Company_? That Schnee?" I asked in shock.

"Correct. Ms. Schnee was taken earlier this morning and the authorities as well as several of Vale's Hunters were scouring the city. I do not know if it was by luck or some other forces that caused you to save her, but on behalf of the City of Vale and the SDC, I would like to thank you."

To be honest, this was a bit overwhelming. I mean, saving the heiress of the most powerful corporation in the world? That's pretty big. But it still doesn't explain one thing.

"I… umm… thanks. But, Headmaster Ozpin-"

"Ozpin, please."

Alright, Ozpin, I have a question."

"Of course, I will be happy to oblige." Ozpin replied.

"I mean, I get why they'd send someone important to do the thanking and all that, but why the headmaster of Beacon Academy? Couldn't it have been some SDC employee or a politician? Why you?" My intuition proved reliable as Ozpin smiled and placed his elbows on the table, interlocking his fingers.

"A good question indeed. You see Mr. Nikos, they were about to send one of those people you mentioned, but then they ran you through the database."

Oh no. No. No. No. No. NO.

"And it seems they found something… peculiar."

This can't be happening. This can't be happening. This can't be happening.

"You were once a student at Haven Academy, yes?" 

It was coming back to haunt me. Haunt me and never leave.

All the pain.

"Yes."

All the suffering.

"Well, in your file it stated that even in your second year, you were one of the best Hunters-in-training of your generation, scoring high marks in all classes and nearly unbeatable in combat. However in the middle of the year there was an… incident which brought about your immediate expulsion."

All the blood.

"Your point?"

"Well Mr. Nikos, in light of this new information I was called in, due to my status as a headmaster of a Hunter's Academy, to aid in the decision of your fate."

I didn't show it, but I was internally screaming. My right arm began pounding, the pain creeping into my bones as I struggled to maintain my cool.

"So what? Are you gonna let me go? Keep me locked up?" Kill me?

"No, no, nothing so barbaric. Mr. Nikos, I'm here to offer you an admission into Beacon."

Silence.

Dead. Silence.

And then I spoke.

"What?!" I quickly rose up, knocking my chair over with a loud _smash_.

"Well, of course you will not be exempted from taking the entrance examination, and you will begin your term as a first year, but I assure you that my offer is genuine."

"You're serious?"

"Quite." Ozpin said, his spectacled eyes both analytical and stoic, and that almost unnerved me even more than the offer itself.

"Even after all you read? All I did? You're giving me a chance?"

"Yes."

"But why?" At this, Ozpin sighed.

"Mr. Nikos, I believe people can change. And you proved to me that _you_ have changed. Despite your past actions, you saved a little girl without any thought of reward, only because, as you said you, 'felt it was right'. That is the kind of person who deserves a second chance. That is the kind of person whom I believe has the qualities of a true Hunter." Ozpin tapped his cane once on the ground for emphasis. And it worked. I was too stunned to formulate words, hell, I could barely even think straight.

"So Mr. Nikos," Ozpin continued. "do you accept my offer?"

"I-I…" I couldn't move. I was just there, frozen, all my past sins and deeds coming back in a flood. They began to drown me, blocking my thoughts, telling me I didn't deserve a second chance, that I never will. But I pushed through the doubt, the pain and closed my eyes, before opening them in a determined stare.

"I accept. Thank you sir." Ozpin smiled at this.

"Good answer. I'll have the police return your weapon, and one of my teachers escort you to temporary lodgings on campus."

"Thank you. I-I don't know what else to say. Thank you. I'll prove to you I deserve this."

"Do not say that." Ozpin's smile returned as he moved to exit. "You must first prove to yourself that you deserve this. Not me."

With that, the headmaster knocked on the interrogation room door before an officer opened it from outside. He gave me one last smile before departing, leaving me utterly shellshocked and elated at the same time.

 _I will prove myself_. I thought.

 _I will prove that I deserve this._

 _Or die trying._

Behind the two way mirror of the interrogation room stood two people, quietly observing the subject on the other side. Ozpin entered through a door at the back, joining the two people as they regarded Pariah from the observation room.

"I do not agree with your decision Ozpin." Spoke the first man. He looked to be military: young, likely in his thirties in a pristine white military uniform, straight-backed and rigid. The image of dicipline. The man glanced at the afformentioned headmaster while Ozpin smirked in response, not taking his eyes off the interrogation room.

"Oh come now James, he's just a child, not a monster." Ozpin replied causing the military man – James Ironwood – to frown.

"His file says different." Ironwood said, glancing over to a file on a desk behind him, the words _Pariah Nikos_ printed in large font on the cover of the file, along with the symbol for Haven Academy.

"His… circumstances aside, Pariah Nikos is not what could be considered as a 'true Hunter'. In fact, he is far from it." Ironwood placed his hands behind his back and continued to monitor the interrogation room. Ozpin on the other hand switched his attention to the blonde haired woman standing beside him.

"And what do you make of him Ms. Goodwitch?" The woman jumped at the sound of her name and whipped her head around to face the headmaster.

Glynda Goodwitch, one of the youngest graduates of Beacon Academy and the new assistant combat class teacher at the very same school. the She was in her mid twenties, with piercing green eyes, glasses and blonde hair tied into a bun. However, despite this, she exuded an air of nervousness and shyness, her frame was small and she was barely as tall as Ozpin's neck. If it wasn't for her clothes and hair, she could have easily passed off as a child, years younger than she currently is.

"Really Ozpin, I don't understand why you brought her in with us. She's barely graduated and already she's part of your inner circle." Ironwood's tone may have been objective, but the words were clearly critical of Glynda.

"James, play nice." Ozpin scolded, returning his attention to Glynda. "It's alright Ms. Goodwitch."

"I-I'm not sure it's my place sir." She said quietly, slightly fidgeting with her hands.

"Nonsense Glynda, remember you are able to speak freely when amongst Colonel Ironwood and I, despite the former's reservations." Ozpin's words were comforting, but Glynda still held a bit of unease in her voice and body language.

"Yes sir." Glynda shifted her gaze from Ozpin back to Pariah and continued to speak, "I-I agree with Col. Ironwood, on paper this person – Pariah – doesn't seem like the kind of person who I'd be comfortable with studying in Beacon."

Ironwood opened his mouth to speak, but Glynda wasn't finished talking yet.

"However, after meeting him, I can see that he is a completely different person. In my opinion, I agree with Ozpin in saying he deserves a chance." Glynda looked to Ozpin for approval, before hastily adding: "Sir!"

Ozpin's smile grew while Ironwood's frown deepened.

"Thank you Ms. Goodwitch." Glynda nodded in thanks before quickly returning her attention to Pariah so as to avoid Ironwood's glare.

"If Lionheart were here, he'd agree with me." Ironwood said, his gaze also returning to Pariah.

"I concur, however we both know our dear collegue easily fears what he does not understand." Ozpin joined his associates in their analysis of Pariah.

"And I'm afraid – despite my words – none of us truly understand Mr. Nikos. Not in the slightest."

 **AN: If you didn't get the memo, Glynda is small.**


End file.
